State schools with good aid

<p>Does anyone know of any state nursing schools in the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic region that would offer good financial aid to out of state students? I am a New Jersey resident, but Rutgers doesn't appear to give good financial aid.</p>

<p>Your SAT/ACT scores which you posted on another thread are very impressive. Rutgers- NB in the past has tended to accept only a relatively small freshman Nursing class (I believe only 30-40 students). Rutgers College of Nursing also has Nursing programs on its Newark campus and has a new 4 year BSN Program just started at Camden County College (it is a 4 year program even though it is located at a CC). Rutgers-Camden’s School of Nursing also offers a 4 year BSN program which is separate administratively from the other Programs in NB, Newark, and at CCCC. With your stats I feel you would get some decent merit aid from most all these Programs but the amount is difficult to predict.</p>

<p>Obviously at other State Universities you would have to pay out-of-state tuition/fees and most State Universities tend to provide more funding to in-state students, but with your stats/activities I would suspect you would get at least some aid. However, whether this would be enough to offset the difference in paying OOS tuition is questionable at most State Universities. As you asked for suggestions one school you might want to consider at least looking into is the University of Delaware in Newark, Delaware. It is unique among all Flagship State Universities in that the majority of students (2/3rds) are from OOS and they therefore provide a reasonable amount of merit aid to OOS applicants. In fact the largest number of OOS residents who attend UD are from NJ. It has a beautiful campus, is easy to get to off Interstate 95, and has an excellent Nursing Program. As with most all Nursing Programs it is highly competitive for admission (the freshman Nursing class typically includes 75-85 OOS students) but with your stats and other activities I feel you would have a very good chance of regular acceptance. In fact you should consider applying to the Honors Program there as IMHO your stats are such that you might have at least a shot at being accepted into it. Acceptance into the Honors Program would probably increase the amount of merit aid you might get.</p>

<p>You might also want to consider some smaller private universities. Some of them provide decent aid and do not prioritize giving it to in-state students. I’m sure you will get some suggestions from others about this idea. Best of luck to you.</p>

<p>In many cases, the aid that is offered by out of state public colleges does not offset the additional cost of out of state tuition and the grants that may be lost from your state from picking an out of state college. I believe NJ is one of those states that does not allow its state college grants to be used out of state. Some public universities also save many of their nursing seats for in-state residents (Penn State is the exception).</p>

<p>Many moderately priced private colleges with nursing programs will offer 50% off their list price tuition for students who are towards the top of their applicant pool. Their sticker prices for tuition can vary greatly, and their room and board charges can also vary.</p>

<p>Particularly for the 95% of us who are not independently wealthy, I’d definitely commit to applying to all in-state publics and then look for some out of state options. The grass is not always greener over the state line.</p>